Shchors is a small picturesque town with a population of about 11230 people. Many people able to work want to get a job, but nowadays it is not easy to find one. The railways are almost finished now. The plant which produced electrical goods is no longer working. The unemployment rate is about 40 %. But it’s much harder for the disabled kids, orphans and low-income families. The news about the opening of Chernihiv Region Charity “Aratta” branch in Shchors was greeted with enthusiasm both by the public and by the newly-created staff.

Thanks to the help of Victoria Filatova, the chairwoman of Chernihiv charity “Aratta” and our English friends, the team started renovating the small building which was rented from the kindergarten. The team worked hard and fast. On December 25th 2003, the doors of Shchors charity “Aratta” were opened to those who need not only material help, but also moral support and help in solving their problems. The work of “Aratta” started with making lists of children from large families, needy families, orphans, social orphans and the handicapped. They were told about the creation of Aratta and were offered the chance to become members of the organization. The charity received 40 applications for children to become members. The staff was formed and began to work at the charity. At present there are 10 teachers working in “Aratta”. A committee for humanitarian aid was formed. The members of the committee receive humanitarian aid from Chernihiv Region charity “Aratta” and distribute it according to the distribution plan between people and organizations. These are kindergartens, secondary schools, sports and music schools, hospitals and enterprises, the boarding school “Kazka”, the summer camp "Drugba" and village councils. “Aratta” pays special attention to the village population, because as you know in towns there are charitable activities for children but the villages suffer from a lack of help. For 9 months of 2005 humanitarian aid was distributed in the sum of 9281,20 hrn., including 5100 hrn. to the village population. The main task of our organization is to help families with handicapped children, orphans and low income families. But the area of our activity is wider: to distribute humanitarian aid (we are grateful to our English friends for it), to organize children’s activities, to organize holidays for families supported by us, (unfortunately we can only organize them in a region polluted by the Chernobyl disaster), to support other children’s organizations and to run the clubs and groups such as “Crafts”, Technical”, “Music”, “English”, ”Theater” and “Cooking”. The “Theatre” group is the most popular. It is used by children of all ages. The performances are prepared together with the help of English teachers and to musical accompaniment from the music teacher. At the concerts children have great pleasure in presenting not only puppet shows but also their knowledge of the English language. Boys are fond of the technical group whereas the girls love the cooking group, and they treat everyone to their dishes. In future we plan to create other useful groups: a computer class, an ecological club, a sports club, a club for parents, a tourist club and sewing and hairdressing clubs. The children have had summer holidays, so the teachers made an interesting program for the children: excursions to the forest and stadium, sports games at the playground, designing flower beds and entertaining competitions. Members of the organization took part in the competitions, “Miss little girl”, and “The pictures on the asphalt”, where they won prizes. The chairwoman of Chernihiv Region charity, Victoria Filatova and friends from Great Britain, Philip Edmonds, Tony Budell, Peter Reilly, Guy Rampersaud and Janet Williams have visited Shchors “Aratta”many times. They spoke about their mission in Chernihiv and in the Chernihiv region. Their mission is care, devotion to their work, love for the people whom they want to help financially and spiritually. Each day spent with them was a real “holiday” for “Aratta” children. The children organized concerts, revealed their talents, made competitions and got many presents from the guests. All the children were happy. Our guests often visited families, which are under “Aratta’s” support, and gave them financial help. Friendly relations were formed between the club of handicapped children, “We are together”, the Childrens library and “Aratta”. They all met together in a library on St. Nicholas Day, where a concert, puppet show and other entertainment programs took place. All children got presents and sweets from “Aratta” and adults spoke about the possibility of the Charity helping children from the club “We are together” in the New Year. On New Year’s Eve, “Aratta” hosted children of single-parent families, and on Christmas Day, handicapped children who don’t have an opportunity to visit “Aratta” groups. “Aratta” goes to the villages to get to know about the living conditions of families with handicapped children. Despite the renovations “Aratta” made in the kindergarten, it didn’t reach an agreement over the long-term rent. Fortunately we found a building in the center of town for an accessible price. Now we are going to renovate the building and equip it for various groups. The members of “Aratta” help with renovations as they can, but it’s necessary to engage workers and to buy necessary materials. The work is delayed because of a lack of finance. Each day the number of “Aratta” members is increasing. The small building that we rent now can’t accept all those who wish to come. In future we plan to create a net of volunteer branches in villages of the district so that we have a full picture about the children and their families needing social and spiritual help. Our plans are also to organize a system which helps gifted young people, to finish renovations of the building, to conduct lectures on different topics, to provide psychological rehabilitation of those who need help, to organize meetings of our children with children from foreign countries and to tackle topics such as ecology and how to fight drug addiction and harmful habits. Fulfilling common business, both parents and children will be making their families stronger. They will have a sense of responsibility for each other and a sense of support. They will strive for a better life and will be orientated towards higher ideals. If the family is healthy, the country will be strong. “Aratta” has become a second home for the people who have come here and become members of the organization. The members of “Aratta” say a great “Thanks” to the main organizers who helped them to find a new sense of life.